IBM Opens Bluemix Garage in Toronto to Help Enterprises Rapidly Develop Applications Using IBM Cloud

Global network of collaboration spaces will be expanded to Nice, France and Melbourne, Australia this year

ARMONK, NY and TORONTO, ON, Aug. 5, 2015 /CNW/ - IBM (NYSE: IBM today announced the opening of a new Bluemix Garage in Toronto, the first in Canada, intended to help enterprises of all sizes to accelerate the design and development of cloud applications by using IBM Cloud technologies with design thinking methodology and agile development capabilities.

The Bluemix Garages create a bridge between the scale of enterprises and the culture of startups, by establishing physical collaboration spaces housed in the heart of thriving entrepreneurial communities around the world. Toronto marks the third Bluemix Garage, building on successful implementations in San Francisco and London. Further expansion is planned with the additions of Nice, France and Melbourne, Australia later this year.

The Toronto Bluemix Garage will be located at the DMZ at Ryerson University, the top-ranked university-based incubator in Canada and fifth in the world. By combining IBM's robust cloud ecosystem with DMZ's strong network of international partners and in-house expertise, the Toronto Bluemix Garage experts will mentor the rising numbers of developers and startups in the region to create of the next generation of cloud apps and services using IBM's platform-as-a-service, Bluemix.

"Bluemix Garages help enterprises harness the spirit and pace of startups while pouring back into the local community with mentorship and skills development on the latest cloud technologies," said Steve Robinson, General Manager, Cloud Platform Services at IBM. "Today's rapid app development cycles require developers to use new tools and methodologies from across the ecosystem to quickly turn new ideas into enterprise-class cloud applications at consumer scale and innovate at the speed of cloud."

IBM launched Bluemix via a $1 billion investment in 2014, growing rapidly to become the largest Cloud Foundry deployment in the world. The developer-friendly, open-standards-based Bluemix catalog includes over 100 tools and services of the most prominent open-source technologies combined with IBM and third-party services enables developers to rapidly create, deploy and manage cloud applications by tapping into a growing ecosystem of runtime frameworks and services.

Connecting developers, startups, entrepreneurs and innovators with enterprises, advisers and influencers in an agile environment that emphasizes speed and scalability; the design thinking and user-centric methodology of the Bluemix Garages process transforms new ideas into initial products fast. Using Bluemix to evolve them based on market feedback, and deliver scale and integration with client systems.

Members of the Toronto Bluemix Garage include Tangerine, a direct everyday bank based in Canada that is using Bluemix to implement its mobile strategy. Using the IBM Mobile Quality Assurance for Bluemix service, Tangerine gathers customer feedback and actionable insight on its mobile banking app by quickly streamlining its implementation and development processes.

"Tangerine's goal is to change the status quo in banking by offering simple, relevant products to our clients", said Charaka Kithulegoda, CIO, Tangerine. "Bluemix provides the advanced tools and technologies we need to streamline our infrastructure, become more agile and improve the customer experience. Now with IBM's Toronto Bluemix Garage, Tangerine can be part of a physical environment to learn quickly, collaborate and create the next generation of mobile banking technology to further enhance our business."

As they increasingly turn to the creativity of startups for fresh approaches to industry challenges, enterprise clients will have even greater access to the most talented entrepreneurs and developers through the Toronto Bluemix Garage. In turn, the Garage will open the door for these startups to IBM's extensive base of enterprise partners, equipping them with the connections to build more functional apps and apply technology across various industries and deploy their solutions into the marketplace.

"We are pleased to welcome the first and only Canadian Bluemix Garage into the DMZ," said Abdullah Snobar, Executive Director of the DMZ at Ryerson University. "This new partnership will provide IBM with an opportunity to work with some of our country's top tech talent to explore new ideas and methodologies. Our entrepreneurs will also greatly benefit from access to IBM's expertise and vast business network."

About DMZ at Ryerson University
The DMZ at Ryerson University is one of Canada's largest business incubators and co-working spaces for entrepreneurs. The top-ranked university incubator in Canada and fifth in the world, the DMZ is a hub of innovation, collaboration and commercialization. Since opening in April 2010, the DMZ and Ryerson Futures Inc.—its affiliated accelerator program—have incubated and accelerated 209 startups which have collectively raised more than $110 million in funding and fostered more than 1,879 jobs. For more information about the DMZ, visit www.ryerson.ca/dmz.

SOURCE IBM Canada Ltd.

For IBM: 
Alexander Aizenberg
External Relations, IBM Cloud
Direct: 1-212-671-9616
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Lorianne Mulé
IBM Communications, Canada
Direct: (905) 316 - 2197
[email protected]

For Ryerson University:
Dasha Pasiy
Media Relations
Direct: (416) 979 - 5000 ext. 2863
[email protected]